Philadelphia Phillies infielder Bryson Stott has stepped up for the team now in his fifth year since his big-league debut.
The 28-year-old was asked to transition to third base following the team acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants, despite having minimal experience at the position. Despite being asked to make a change mid-season, Stott has performed well defensively.
At the plate he has been productive too, providing the bottom of the order with consistent production and making the Phillies lineup one of the scariest and deepest in baseball. Across 134 games this year, Stott has posted a .255 batting average, .331 on-base percentage, .734 OPS, 10 home runs and 61 RBIs.
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With the Phillies hosting the Atlanta Braves for an important four-game set starting Friday, Stott was once again in the starting lineup, playing third base and hitting seventh. However, moments before first pitch the Phillies were forced to remove him.
He was replaced by Edmundo Sosa at third base with Bryan De La Cruz entering the starting nine in his place. “Updated Phillies lineup, INF Bryson Stott was scratched due to a personal matter,” the team wrote on X.
It is currently unclear what exactly the reason for Stott’s removal is, but it is serious enough that he was scratched from the lineup and will likely not be available off the bench either.
It is also unclear if this will affect his availability for the rest of the series, and if it does it would be a major blow. Stott has been largely available for the team this year and this will only be his seventh missed game of the season.
